A Europe fit for the digital age

Delivering on our promises

Digital technology is transforming our lives. In 2019, the EU launched a digital strategy to empower people and businesses with a new generation of technologies, while all the time helping it to achieve its target of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. 

The strategy set out ways to make this Europe’s ‘digital decade’.  It encouraged innovation in digital technology to keep us competitive but also established ways to minimize its negative risks. It strengthened Europe’s digital sovereignty and set standards, with a clear focus on data, technology, and infrastructure. 

Across Europe, the EU invested billions in the expansion of fiber optics and 5G; connected rural regions, and equipped hundreds of thousands of workers with skills for the digital future. In the past years, Europe achieved more for citizens and businesses in the digital space than ever before.   

Promises kept

Citizens’ and businesses’ rights online 

• The Digital Services Act imposes greater accountability on the biggest platforms to remove illegal content such as hate speech and disinformation and tackle risks to children and elections
• By the end of 2026, the Digital Identity Wallet will allow all Europeans to have a secure digital identity that protects personal data and works in all Member States
• The Digital Markets Act allows businesses to challenge digital ‘gatekeepers’ by ensuring fair, open, and contestable digital markets 

 Artificial intelligence 

• We put forward the innovation-friendly Artificial Intelligence Act that will help ensure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent, ethical, unbiased and under human control
• We have set a goal of investing more than €1 billion per year in AI research and innovation, with the objective to attract more investment in AI per year over this decade. 

 Data 

• The Data Act, which will apply from September 2025, incentivises the sharing of data by those who generate it and make our cloud markets more competitive  Data Governance Act entered into force, helping to increase trust in data intermediaries and strengthening data-sharing mechanisms 

 Cybersecurity 

• Cyber Resilience Act was agreed. It sets high cybersecurity standards for all connected devices sold in the EU, from baby monitors, smart watches, and computer games to firewalls and routers. 
• The EU Cyber Solidarity Act, agreed in 2024, will improve the response to cyber threats across the EU. 

 Industry 

• Through the European Chips Act the EU aims to strengthen its competitiveness and double the share in the semiconductors global market to 20% by 2030. It has already triggered public and private investment plans worth over €80 billion. 

Space 

• We proposed a plan for an EU space-based secure communication system that, among other possibilities, can support edge computing, Internet of Things, autonomous driving, e-health, smart working and education, in-flight and maritime connectivity, and smart agriculture 

Improving digital skills  

• The Commission has launched programmes like the Cybersecurity Skills Academy and the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform to help increase the number of information and communication technology (ICT) graduates and to train people working in digital areas. 
• There are also over 200 European Digital Innovation Hubs across the EU. These hubs help businesses and public organisations tackle digital challenges and improve their competitiveness. 

 Read more about these achievements